The protection of operating components, including hydraulic valves, is a common consideration in design and manufacture of machines, including, for example, trucks, construction equipment, excavators, wheel loaders, tractors, motor graders, mining machines and the like, on or in which such components may be secured. For example, a machine may impose transient and/or twisting loads on attached components at a level sufficient to bind or restrict movement of internal parts contained within the components.
In the case of a hydraulic valve component, an internal valve spool normally free to move reciprocally within the valve component may become damaged or bound by machine forces, rendering the component at least sporadically inoperable, i.e. causing desired movement of the valve spool to cease. Prior efforts directed to avoiding such component interference, as especially associated with off-road machines subject to particularly harsh loads, have involved using various isolating devices, including so-called isolation mounts incorporating rubber bushings. Such structures are, however, associated with greater complexity and assembly requirements, considering that, apart from the extra expense, the rubber parts must be separately manufactured and inventoried.